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Study links activity levels post-discharge to rehospitalization rates

A new study has found a link between the activity levels of elderly people who have just been released from the hospital and the risk that they will require readmission within 30 days. “We’re using activity here as a biomarker, similar to the way you might use blood pressure,” said UTMB professor Steve R. Fisher, lead author of a paper in Journals of Gerontology Series A. “While we can’t say whether activity is a cause or effect in these cases, we can use it as a marker to tell us whether a person is at high risk and we need to intervene.” Patients in the study who were rehospitalized also walked markedly less during their hospital stay. Coverage also appears in Long-Term Living Magazine, Senior Housing News, Many Years Young, Science Daily, Interim Health Care, Red Orbit, Health, Medical and Science Updates, Science Newsline, The Inquisitr